John Delcos enters his third season covering the Mets for The Journal News after eight seasons on the Yankees beat. Prior to coming to New York, John covered the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Indians.

Moises is already getting in some ‘road work’. Boomer Esiasson reports having seen Alou running down a street in their neighborhood chasing his dog who had squeezed through the fence around the Alou yard.

The one good season you gave us was as much a curse as a blessing… this endless string of attempts at finding lightning in a bottle with used-up old guys and discarding good young talent to pursue such folly was certainly given sick credence by your lightning in a bottle year.

Shawn Green, Moises Alou, Luis Castillo… I’m gagging a little as I try to create a litany of names in Valentin’s image.

Patrick, if you want to start a list of players discarded by the Mets, in general, for old guys and/or sentimental reclamation projects that went or are going bust…

We could start with Flores, Milledge, Gotay and Bell… we could throw in Bannister if we like… we could certainly toss Mike Jacobs in there if we want to go a little further back.

For a team that basically only has three position players that are both healthy and talented enough to be playing at an everyday major league level, Reyes/Wright/Beltran, that’s a LOT of competent supporting bats that could still turn into stars or at least be good above-average placeholders.

I think it may be valid to say Gotay and Keppinger were let go in favor of older players. By the same token, Anderson Hernandez was given every opportunity to succeed. He looked good for awhile got hurt and hasn’t been really heard from since.